Green Thinking
Four emerging innovations from around the world showcase a new generation of forward-looking business models.
On June 25, 2006, Warren Buffett announced he would give away 85 per cent of his $44-billion US fortune, mostly to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in an effort to solve some of the worst problems of global health and poverty. At a combined $3 billion a year, the Gates Foundation is equivalent to a quarter of the United Nations’ entire budget. Google’s charismatic founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin joined the anti-poverty wave with $1 billion, amending Google’s “don’t be evil” motto with a commitment to do “good things for the world.” But will 2007 bring the grassroots opportunities, inspiration, and managerial talent needed to carry out these bold visions of a more sustainable future?
We posed this challenge to MBAs studying Sustainable Value Creation at York University, and a network of organizations: CARE Enterprise Partners, the United Nations Development Program’s Growing Sustainable Business Initiative, MEDA, and grassroots entrepreneurs from Canada and around the globe.
The path-breaking enterprises featured in this article provide an encouraging glimpse into the contribution of local enterprises and market-based approaches to a sustainable future.
By innovating for sustainability each business successfully turns a challenge into an opportunity.
Sweet Taste of Honey
By Taz Dossani, Laurie McDougald, Scott Houston, Adrian Varao, and Chris Dogas
When reaching out for a jar of Acacia, African Blossom, or Wild Comb, honey aficionados are transported from supermarket shelves to the small farms of rural Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, where Honey Care Africa has revitalized the national honey industries. Against the odds, its for-profit business model, centred on environmentally friendly production, modern beekeeping technology and trusted support of local farmers, has successfully disrupted a mature and contested market.
Farouk Jiwa, now a Care Enterprise Partner, founded Honey Care Africa in Kenya in 2000, where 75 per cent of the labour force derives its income from subsistence farming. In 2004, Honey Care began expanding to neighbouring countries and now employs 48 full-time staff and has captured a significant share of the regional honey market. It has also established a network of 9,000 small-scale beekeepers across East Africa who have since more than doubled their previous incomes. The “money from honey” is used for food, medicine, seeds, fertilizers, school fees, home improvements, and microenterprises.
